Valtteri Bottas qualifies on pole for the Mexican Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton second ahead of F1 title rival Max Verstappen

In a result no one predicted, Mercedes locked out the front row with Valtteri Bottas putting it on pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

The Red Bulls dominated the practice sessions, with the home hero Sergio Perez setting the fastest lap of Free Practice Three. But it was much closer in Q1.

Lance Stroll crashes in Q1

Early in the session, Lance Stroll crashed at the end of his hot lap to bring out a quick red flag. After the car was cleared and the barriers were fixed, the rest of the session played out in a normal matter. 

On the first round of laps, Verstappen was six-tenths faster than anyone else. But the track evolution was immense and with times dropping quick, the order was slightly unusual. Bottas set the fastest lap of the session with Charles Leclerc and Verstappen right on his tail.

We lost Fernando Alonso, Nicholas Latifi, Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and, of course, Stroll.

Lewis Hamilton fastest in Q2

In Q2, it seemed like no one wanted to start Sunday’s race on the soft tyres, as every driver went out on the medium set of tyres. 

The first round of laps were much closer than it was in Q1 – as only one-hundredth of a second separated the two championship rivals of Verstappen and Hamilton. On the second set of laps, it was Hamilton who set the fastest lap of the session. With Verstappen in second and Yuki Tsunoda in third having switched to the soft tyres.

Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi and Esteban Ocon were knocked out of qualifying. 

Mercedes capitalise on Max Verstappen’s misfortune

There was a shock at the start of Q3, with both of the Mercedes setting rapid lap times, with Bottas and Hamilton two-tenths up of the Red Bulls on the first set of laps. 

But things would only get better for Mercedes as a lock-up from both Tsunoda and Perez compromised Verstappen’s final lap to allow Mercedes to lock out the front row, a result that seemed impossible at the start of the weekend. 

Perez will start fourth with Pierre Gasly in fifth. Carlos Sainz will start sixth with Daniel Ricciardo in seventh and Charles Leclerc in eighth. Tsunoda qualified ninth but will start at the back of the grid due to an engine change. That means Lando Norris will start ninth and Vettel is promoted to 10th.

By Charlie Parker